The sound that dominates today’s dance floor is a heady mixture of R&B and techno, whose building beats and naughty lyrics are best characterized by the likes of Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Ke$ha, the new divas of nightlife. While some female artists have attempted to jump on the bandwagon of these new Billboard starlets, erstwhile pop goddess Kylie Minogue has stuck to her guns. Her new album Aphrodite features some great dance tracks that have her distinctive style stamped all over them.
The album starts out with “All the Lovers”, a mix of pop and trance that builds anticipation in its listeners and metaphorically pulls them onto the dance floor. Then, tracks like “Get Outta of My Way” and “ Put Your Hands Up” keep them there, although in the case of the former, with slightly bland and repetitive lyrics. The title song, “Aphrodite” is the most powerful track in the album. The clever layering of different musical instruments and the catchy lyrics of the chorus lend the song a confident swagger. “Better Than Today” is more of a pop song than a dance track; it strongly echoes the hits of the eighties, the era in which Minogue fiirst stepped on the scene. The rest of the songs on the album are not really very memorable, but some of them, like “Can’t Beat This Feeling” and “Closer” might be appealing if you’re driving with your top down and feel like some unobtrusive techno.
While Kylie’s brand of electro-pop has made Aphrodite as popular as ever on the European music charts, it is doubtful the album will achieve the same success on the American dance charts. The tide of our dance trends have turned, and Kylie’s sex-kitten breathiness will not be able to compete with the full throated vocals of pop stars like Beyonce. Still, Kylie‘s Aphrodite will not disappoint fans of her music. This album proves that although Kylie is an old goddess of the music industry, like the Greek Aphrodite, her music is still beautiful.
